


The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh

by BBCGirl657



Series: The Littlest Timelord [3]
Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-11-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26393167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BBCGirl657/pseuds/BBCGirl657
Summary: Elise Smith is now a teenaged Timelord. In addition to losing the Ponds, the fields of Trenzalore are calling. But first they have to figure out exactly who Clara Oswald is.
Relationships: Amy Pond/Rory Williams, Eleventh Doctor/River Song, The Doctor/River Song
Series: The Littlest Timelord [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695061
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the first chapter of “The Littlest Timelord: The Fall of the Eleventh”! Lots of clues and surprises in this book! I hope you’re ready!

The TARDIS landed roughly, sending Elise to the floor. She picked herself up and ran to the doors. They’d landed on earth.

She remembered the Doctor mentioning something about that. But where was he?

He’d told her to stay in the TARDIS while he executed his plan and now he was lost. Great.

About half an hour later, the door opened and the Doctor stumbled inside.

“Dad!” She ran towards him and grabbed his hand.

“Oh! Elise! Is that you?” he asked.

“Well who else would it be? What are you wearing?”

He was wearing some type of spacesuit and by the looks of it, his helmet was on backwards. “Impact suit. It’s busy repairing me.”

“Of course it is,” she muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing!” She led him up to the platform and helped him sit in the jump seat. “How do I get the helmet off?”

“There should be a latch or a button.”

Elise’s nimble fingers searched around his neck until she found it. She pulled it off.

“Hello there,” the Doctor said.

Elise smiled softly. “How about I go make us some tea?” Elise disappeared down the corridor as the Doctor stood up and took off the spacesuit.

Just as Elise came back holding two mugs of tea, the TARDIS took off. “Where are we going?” Elise asked.

The Doctor grabbed onto the monitor. “The English Countryside!”

“But why?”

The Doctor smiled. “Because someone made a wish!”

The Doctor opened the door, well one of the doors fell off its hinges… “There we go. Well, come in. In you come,” he said.

Madge, Lily, and Cyril entered the house.

“Mind your step. Now, don’t worry. The back door is still, broadly speaking, operational.” The Doctor lifted the door and placed it upright again. “Right then, may I take your cases?”

Madge and children thanked him.

“Lovely. Would you mind carrying them for me? I need to show you round.”

“Oh no, wait!” Madge said as the Doctor ran up the stairs, “Who are you?”

“I’m the caretaker and this is my assistant.”

“But you’re not Mister Cardew.”

“I agree.”

“I don’t understand. Are you the new caretaker?”

“Usually called the Doctor. Or the Caretaker or Get Off This Planet. Though, strictly speaking, that probably isn’t a name. My assistant’s name is Elise Smith. Hello, Madge Arwell.”

“Hello.”

“And Cyril Arwell. And Lily Arwell.” The Doctor shook each of their hands. He gave Lily a soft smile. She looked much like Elise had at her age. “Now, come on, come on. Lots to see. Whistle stop tour. Take notes, there will be questions.”

He first led them into a small sitting room. “Smaller sitting room. Just chairs. Bit pointless without a television, so I made some repairs.” He pressed a button by the door and the chairs started to move on their own. “I know.”

They made their way into the kitchen next.

“Kitchen! That’s a cooker, probably. And these are taps. Hot, cold, lemonade,” the Doctor said.

“Lemonade?” Cyril asked.

“I know!”

The upstairs was next.

The Doctor stopped in front of the staircase and kicked it, but nothing happened. “Staircase. It seems to have broken down. We’ll have to walk up.”

When they got to the landing, the Doctor pointed at the stairs leading to the attic. “Elise and I sleep up there. Stay away. Beware of panthers.”

“Panthers?” Lily asked.

“They’re terrifying. Have you never seen panthers?”

The little boy, Cyril, stopped and looked up the stairs.

“Cyril!” the Doctor called.

Elise placed a hand on Cyril’s back and led him away from the stairs.

It was time to see the bedrooms. Madge’s bedroom was first.

The Doctor opened the door. “Mum’s bedroom. Grown up. Your basic boring.”

The children’s room was next. It was the Doctor’s favorite. It wasn’t too far off from what Elise’s bedroom had looked like as a child.

“Lily and Cyril’s room. I’m going to be honest, masterpiece. The ultimate bedroom. A sciencey wiencey workbench. A jungle. A maze. A window disguised as a mirror. A mirror disguised as a window. Selection of torches for midnight feasts and secret reading. Zen garden, mysterious cupboard, zone of tranquility, rubber wall, dream tank, exact model of the rest of the house, not quite to scale. Apologies. Dolls with comical expressions, the Magna Carta, a foot spa, Cluedo, a yellow fort.”

Lily giggled.

“Where are the beds?” Cyril asked.

“Well, I couldn’t fit everything in. There had to be sacrifices. Anyway, who needs beds when you’ve got…” The Doctor pulled a lever hammocks were lowered down from the ceiling. “Hammocks! I know!”

Cyril walked up to one and tried to get on. “But how do you get on?”

“Watch and learn, kid.” The Doctor ran and jumped right in between the two of them.

Elise covered her face, embarrassed.

“For God’s sake!” Madge said, exasperated.

“This hammock has developed a fault.”

“Can you please stop talking? Can you please just stop!”

The Doctor stood up. “Sorry.”

“Children, go downstairs.”

“Why?” Lily asked.

“Are we leaving?” Cyril asked.

“Yes. No! I don’t know! Just please go downstairs!” Madge yelled.

“You don’t need to shout,” Lily told her.

The children left.

“Why are you doing all this?” Madge asked.

“I’m just trying to take care of things. I’m the Caretaker.”

“That’s not what caretakers do.”

“Then why are they called caretakers?”

“Their father’s dead.”

The mood in the room drastically changed. “I’m sorry.”

“Lily and Cyril’s father, my husband, is dead and they don’t know yet, because if I tell them now, then Christmas will always be what took their father away from them, and no one should have to live like that. Of course, when the Christmas period is over, I shall… I don’t know why I keep shouting at them.”

“Because every time you see them happy, you remember how sad they’re going to be, and it breaks your heart.” The Doctor looked at Elise as he said this.

Elise could see the memories of House flashing across his mind. The day that he told her Gallifrey was gone and everyone she knew and loved was dead.

“Mother, come and see!” Lily’s voice yelled from downstairs.

Cyril joined her. “Mother! You’ve got to see this! Come on!”

“Because what’s the point in them being happy now if they’re going to be sad later?” the Doctor said.

“Mother!” Cyril called.

“Mother, are you coming?” Lily asked.

“The answer is, of course, because they are going to be sad later. Now, we’d better get downstairs. I think they may have found the main sitting room,” the Doctor told Madge.

“Mother!” Cyril yelled.

“I repaired it.”

As they left the room, Elise leaned in towards Madge. “Even though they’ll be sad later, they’ll be okay. I was.”

Down in the main sitting room, it was decorated perfectly for Christmas.

Lily and Cyril looked back at them.

“I know!” the Doctor said.

Lily and Cyril were drawn in by the large present near the tree.

The Doctor and Elise slipped out of the room.

“Do you think she’ll tell them?” Elise asked.

“She has to.”

Elise sighed.

“Ellie? What is it?”

Elise played with the zipper on her jacket. “I miss Amy and Rory. This’ll be the first Christmas we don’t spend with them.”

The Doctor placed his hand on the back of her head and kissed her forehead.

Elise wandered around the house. She couldn’t sleep. The Doctor had tried to lull her to sleep by singing to her, but it didn’t work. So she decided that maybe a walk would be enough to clear her mind.

She was downstairs when heard small footsteps coming down the stairs.

It was Cyril. He was awake and making his way towards the main sitting room.

Elise knew she should have alerted the Doctor, but she couldn’t let him go wandering off by himself. What if he was hurt? Elise wasn’t sure about what exactly was in that present.

Cyril untied the present and opened the box. Light streamed out along with a few snowflakes.

Now Elise was curious as well.

Cyril climbed inside before backing up into the sitting room. Cyril climbed inside the box again and jumped down into a winter wonderland.

Elise waited until he was far enough away to follow him. She was just going to keep an eye on him and made sure nothing bad happened to him. As she walked past one of the trees, she noticed a broken ornament on the ground.

There were tracks leading away from it.

Well this was not good.


	2. Chapter 2

As Elise followed Cyril, the tracks kept getting bigger.

They soon came upon a stone tower with a glass door.

Just as Cyril was about to open the door, Elise stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

Cyril gasped and spun around. “Elise!”

Elise pulled out her sonic screwdriver and opened the door. “Stay behind me.”

They went inside and closed the door behind them. There were no floors. Just a long staircase winding up the walls. In the center of the room was a wooden carving of a king.

Elise took Cyril’s hand and they started up the stairs.

They passed by a window and saw a searchlight sweeping the forest. They eventually made it to the top of the tower and walked through an open door that closed behind them.

Cyril gasped.

“It’s okay. It’s okay,” Elise reassured him, “Nothing bad will happen while I’m here.”

A wooden Queen stood in the center of the room holding a circlet in her hands above an empty chair.

Cyril walked over to a window to look out, while Elise observed the Queen. The Queen blinked and stared at Cyril.

“No!” Elise yelled, throwing herself in front of Cyril.

“Cyril? Elise? Can you hear me?” the Doctor’s voice came through the door.

The circlet was glowing.

Cyril and Elise ran out of the way.

The Queen backed them up towards the throne.

Elise lost her footing and fell to the ground before she could stop the Queen from putting the crown on Cyril’s head.

“Cyril? Elise! Can you hear me?” the Doctor’s voice yelled.

The door finally opened and the Doctor and Lily came running in.

The Doctor rushed to Elise and helped her up.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I tried! But they…he…” Elise stuttered.

The Doctor gathered her in his arms. “Shhh. It’s okay. I know. You were brave. You did the right thing trying to protect him.”

Lily ran over to her brother. “What’s wrong with him, Caretaker? Is he dead?”

The Doctor walked over to him and examined him. “It’s okay. He’s just unconscious.” He looked at the wooden Queen. “So what are you? Not a King, a Queen! The Queen Bee of the forest.”

Lily looked out one of the windows. “Caretaker, look.”

Stars were coming out of the trees towards the tower.

“It’s like…” the Doctor said.

“Like what?” Lily asked.

“Like the life force is leaving the forest.”

The wooden King from downstairs entered the room.

“What are they doing? Stop them!” Lily said as the wooden King and Queen came toward them.

The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and waved it around. “Oh aliens made of wood! It was always going to happen, you know. Er, it’s okay. I think they just want to talk to us.”

Cyril opened his eyes as the circlet on his head started glowing.

Lily knelt in front of her brother.

“They’re scared. Can’t you hear them? The trees are screaming. Can’t you hear?” he asked.

The Doctor scanned him with his screwdriver. “No, but you can. You’re connected to them.”

“Why have the stars left the trees?” Lily asked him.

“I think they're…” Cyril said.

Elise took one of his hands. “It’s okay. Take your time,” she told him.

The Doctor knelt in front of him like Lily. “Just concentrate. What are they doing?” the Doctor asked.

“Evacuating. They’re evacuating,” Cyril said.

“Why?”

“They’re frightened of the rain. The rain that burns.”

“Caretaker, please explain. I’m frightened,” Lily told him.

“Those stars. They’re pure life force. Souls, if you like. And they’re trying to escape because they think their home is going to burn.”

Elise felt her heartrate speed up as memories of Gallifrey crossed her mind. She blinked them away, but the Doctor saw the flash of fear in her eyes.

“Why can’t they just float up into the sky?” Lily asked.

“They need to travel inside a living thing. Inside Cyril. You see, this…” The Doctor scanned the circlet with his screwdriver. “…it’s not a crown, it’s a relay. They’re turning your brother into a lifeboat. That’s what this place is for, then. It’s an escape plan, is that it?”

The Queen moved her hand towards Cyril.

“No!” Elise yelled.

“Don’t you harm him. Do not touch that child!” the Doctor yelled.

The Queen placed her hand on Cyril’s shoulder. He sat up straight and spoke with a deep voice. “Your coming was foretold.”

“Oh my God, what is that? Why did he sound like that?” Lily asked.

“Oh, hello,” the Doctor said, “Are we lip synching now?”

“We had faith. Your coming was foretold.”

“There’s no such thing as foretelling. Trust a time traveler.”

“We waited, and you came.”

“So, you’ve got an escape plan. Why aren’t you escaping?”

“The child is weak.”

“You mean he’s a child.”

“No, he is weak. The forest cannot live in him. But there are others.”

“There certainly are. And, the good thing is I look great in a hat. So, let’s get this thing off, eh?” The Doctor knelt in front of Cyril and reached for the circlet.

“You are also weak.”

“I’m really not. Let’s save a forest, eh, Cyril?”

“You are not the one. You are weak.”

“I’m really not.” The Doctor pulled the circlet off Cyril’s head and he cried out in pain.

“Let go! Just let go! Drop it! Let it go! Please, just drop it,” Lily begged.

“I can’t!” he yelled.

Elise grabbed it from him. Elise turned it over in her hands.

The Queen put her hand on Elise’s shoulder. “She is strong. But she is not ready yet.”

Elise dropped the circlet.

“She’s strong. I’m weak. Interesting,” the Doctor said.

“What did she mean I’m not ready yet?” Elise asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Mummy?” Cyril asked.

Lily knelt in front of her brother. “Cyril, it’s all right. It’s me. Mummy isn’t here but, we’re going home to her right now. Aren’t we, Caretaker?”

There was a rumble of thunder in the distance.

“No. I don’t think we are. The rain that burns. Acid rain. We have to get out of this forest. We’re in terrible danger. This tower won’t protect us for long,” the Doctor said.

“Where’s Mummy?” Cyril asked.

“She’s coming,” Lily told him, “You know she’s coming, because she always comes, doesn’t she?”

“Cyril,” the Doctor said, “The way we came here. That door won’t stay open forever. Now, I’m not even sure if I can get us through the forest safely, but if we’re going to have any chance at all, we have to go now.”

Cyril crossed his arms over his chest. “No. We wait for Mummy. Mummy always comes.”

Elise admired his dedication. If it were the Doctor, she’d do the same. “Not this time, Cyril. I’m sorry, but not this time.”

Outside the window, a large robot was clomping through the forest.

“What’s that?” Lily asked.

“It’s an Androzani Harvester,” the Doctor told her, “But…”

“You recognize that thing?”

“More to the point, I think I recognize the driving!”

Elise and Cyril joined them at the window. Madge was driving the harvester.

“Ha ha! Madge has entered the forest! Come on, Madge. You can do it. You go, girl!”

“Oh, shut up, you ridiculous oaf!” Madge’s voice yelled.

“Come on. This way, girl. You can do it, you can do it! Excellent driving! Hello!”

“Caretaker?”

“Yes?”

“You’re fired!”

Just before the harvester reached the window, it fell over sideways.

“It’s okay, she’s fine. Don’t worry. Stay here. Just stay here,” the Doctor told them. He ran out of the room.

A few minutes later, Madge entered the room. “Cyril!” Madge said, relieved.

“Mum!” Cyril yelled.

Madge ran over to her children. “Lily!”

The small family hugged.

“Oh, what are you doing? How dare you leave the house. Cyril, what have I told you about opening your presents early?” Madge scolded.

“Sorry, mummy.”

“Something like this was bound to happen.”

Lily gasped and pulled her brother back as the wooden queen approached Madge.

“What are those?” she asked.

“Stay away from it. You have to stay back,” Lily told her.

Madge looked at the circlet. “That’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Mummy?” Cyril asked.

“See how it shines.”

The Queen placed the circlet on Madge’s head. The stars outside started to enter the room, going inside Madge.

The Doctor ran back into the room.

“The stars are going inside her. She’s taking the whole forest,” Lily said.

“Oh, this is marvelous. Oh, this is really quite wonderful,” Madge commented.

All of the stars were now inside Madge.

“Madge? Are you all right? Talk to me. Madge, can you hear me?” the Doctor asked.

“Yes, I can hear you. I’m perfectly fine, thank you.”

“Fine? You’ve got a whole world inside your head.”

“I know! It’s funny, isn’t it? One can’t imagine being a forest, then suddenly one can. How remarkable.”

“You’re okay. She’s okay!”

The Queen placed her hand on Madge’s shoulder. “She is strong.”

“Ooo. That wasn’t me,” Madge said as the Queen stepped back, “This is all really rather clever, isn’t it?”

“She’s strong? She’s strong?” It suddenly hit the Doctor. “Oh! Oh! Stupid me. Stupid old Doctor. Do you get it, Cyril?”

“No.”

“Lily, you do, don’t you?”

“No.”

The Doctor turned to Elise. “Ellie?”

“Okay, so Cyril is weak and Lily is strong but young. I’m strong, but not ready yet…oh my god!”

“It’s a translation. Translated from the base code of nature itself. You and I, Cyril, we’re weak. But she’s female. More than female, she’s mum. How else does life ever travel? The Mother ship.”

There was a rumbling noise and the dome detached itself from the tower.

“What’s happening?” Lily asked.

“No idea. Do what I do. Hold tight and pretend it’s a plan,” the Doctor told them.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ending has me all soft.

Elise and the Doctor looked out the window.

“Oh my god,” Elise breathed, “It’s beautiful.”

“It is. It’s amazing,” the Doctor said, putting his hands on Elise’s shoulders.

“Where are we?” Cyril asked.

“Technically, we’re not anywhere. We’ve flown into the Time Vortex. You’ve what you wanted. Those idiots down there can burn your old home and you’ll be safe out here. But these people helped you, and they’re in my protection. Now help them. How do we get home?”

The Queen placed her hand on Madge’s shoulder. “Think.”

“Sorry? What?”

“She must only think.” The Queen stepped back.

“Madge, did you hear that? You said it, but did you hear it?” the Doctor asked, kneeling in front of her, “You’ve got to think.” 

“Think what?”

“Think of home. Just picture it, feel it! You have to really feel it. Can you do that?” The Doctor ran back over to the window, “Your mind is controlling this vessel. You can fly us all back for Christmas.”

“My head is full of trees, Caretaker. Can’t you fly us home?”

The Doctor knelt in front of her again. “I don’t have a home to think of. And between you and me, I’m older than I look and I can’t feel the way you do. Not anymore. And you really need to feel it, Madge. Everything about home that you miss until you can’t bear it. Until you almost burst.”

“Till it hurts? Is that what you mean, Caretaker? Till it hurts?”

“Yes. Yes.”

Madge took a piece of paper out of her coat pocket. “Well then, home in time for Christmas!”

The dome swayed and shook as they flew through the vortex.

Elise smiled and laughed. “She drives like you!”

“Oi!” the Doctor snapped, making Elise laugh even more.

“What’s happening? Where are we going?” Lily asked.

“Show them! Show them!” the Doctor said.

The window expanded so everyone could see the vortex corridor.

“Ha! The Time Vortex. Your mother is flying a forest through the Time Vortex. Be a little impressed. What are you going home for? What’s pulling you there? Please, try. Please, think.”

There was an image of a man holding a baby. It morphed into the man in uniform waving goodbye.

“Reg!” Madge said.

“Daddy?” Cyril asked.

“My Reg!”

Flashes of memories appeared on the screen.

“That’s it, focus on Reg. Be careful, but focus on him,” the Doctor told her.

“Oh, I don’t know.”

“How did you meet? You and Reg. Tell me how you met.”

“He followed me home. I worked in the dairy. He always used to follow me home.” The memory appeared on the screen.

“Look at Father. He looks so young,” Lily said.

“He said he’d keep on following me till I married him. Didn’t like to make a scene.”

“Just stay focused. Think of home. This thing, it works psychically. It’ll find a signal and lock on,” the Doctor told her.

A fighter jet appeared on the screen.

“No. No, please. Don’t show me that. Please don’t show me that!” Madge cried.

“Is that Daddy’s plane?” Cyril asked.

“Please, I don’t want to see that! Please!” Smoke poured from the jet as it went down.

“No, no, no, no, no, Madge. Don’t break the signal now. We can’t break it now. I’m sorry, Madge!” the Doctor said.

“Not the night he died. I don’t want to see him die!”

“What do you mean, the night he died?” Lily asked.

“Oh please don’t make me watch him die!”

“Mummy? Is Daddy dead? Mummy!” Cyril cried.

“Goodbye, my love. Goodbye!”

The dome landed roughly, throwing everyone to floor. Now that was familiar.

The Doctor stood up and rushed over to Elise to help her up. “Are you okay?” he asked.

Elise nodded. “Check on them,” she said, gesturing to the others.

The Doctor walked over to them, waving the smoke away. “Cyril, Lily, are you all right?”

“Yeah,” Lily said.

The Doctor soniced the wooden King and Queen.

“Are they dead?” Madge asked.

“No, they’re just wood now. They’ve been emptied,” the Doctor told her, “The forest has gone from your head too, hasn’t it?”

“But where is it now?”

“The life force of the whole forest has transmuted itself into a sub-etheric waveband of light, which can exist as a…”

Madge gave the Doctor a look.

“The souls of the trees are out among the stars, and they’re shining, very happy. And you got them there. Well done, Madge.”

“And where are we?”

“Home! Christmas morning.” The Doctor jumped up and ran over to the window. “We’ve taken a bit of a short cut. Haven’t you always wanted to do that?”

“Mother?” Lily asked.

“Oh, look at you. You’ve been so brave, you.” Madge started to walk forward to embrace her children, but they backed away from her. “Look, we’re home again, see?”

“What did you mean, watch him die? Where’s Father? Where is he? Where’s Daddy?” Lily asked.

Madge unfolded the piece of paper in her hand.

“Why are you holding a telegram? Well, what does it say?”

“Please, just tell us,” Cyril begged.

“Tell us!” Lily yelled.

“I imagine you’d prefer to be alone,” the Doctor said, remembering how it felt to tell your child the hardest thing they’d ever hear.

“I don’t believe anyone would prefer that. Stay close, Caretaker,” Madge said.

“We’ll be right outside.” The Doctor placed a hand on Elise’s back and they left the dome.

“Dad?” Elise asked when they were outside.

“Yes Ellie?”

“Earlier…when they said I wasn’t ready…does that mean…?” Elise’s hand came up to rest on her stomach and the Doctor smiled.

He cradled the back of her head and kissed her forehead. “Yeah.”

Elise threw her arms around him as her eyes filled with tears.

After a moment, they turned around to see a fighter jet on the front lawn.

The Doctor ran back inside and came out with Madge and her children. They stared in disbelief.

“Madge Arwell, who flew a whole forest though the Time Vortex, plus one husband,” the Doctor told her, “He did it again, Madge. He followed you home. Look what you can do, Mother Christmas.”

“Madge, what am I doing here?” Reg asked.

“It’s Christmas Day, my love!” Madge said, “Where else would you be?”

“Christmas Day? How?”

“We took a short cut.” The little family was reunited.

A tear slipped down Elise’s face.

The Doctor wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her temple. “Happy crying. Humany wumany.”

The Doctor and Elise stepped out of the TARDIS to find Madge in the attic.

“Of course. It’s you, isn’t it? My spaceman angel, with his head on backwards!”

The Doctor spun around in a circle. “How do I look the right way round?”

“Funnier.”

Elise hid a laugh behind her hand.

“Okay…”

“So you came back.”

“Well, you were there for me when I had a bad day. Always like to return a favor. Got a bit glitchy in the middle there, but it sort of worked out in the end. Story of my life.”

“Story of our life, you mean,” Elise said, joining him at his side, “I never got to thank you for getting him home safely.”

“You’re welcome. And thank you,” Madge said, hugging them.

“Oh, you did it all yourself, Madge Arwell. But thanks for thanking us,” the Doctor told her.

“Now, the last time I saw you, I went back the next day, but the police box had gone.”

“Yeah. You want to see how it’s done?” The Doctor started to walk back to the TARDIS, but Madge stopped him.

“No. I want you to stay for Christmas, please.”

“Ah, well, you see, things to do, people to see.”

“Of course. Yes. Family of your own.”

“Well, no, actually.”

“Oh. Yes, yes, you said no family. But there must be people who love you. Friends.”

Elise smiled softly. She missed Amy, Rory, and River. The only family she’d ever really known.

“No. Well, yes, but. It’s a long story. But they all think I’m dead. Never mind. Anyway, watch my box do its thing. It’s really cool. You’ll love it.” The Doctor started to walk back to the TARDIS, but Madge stopped him again.

“No. No one should be alone at Christmas.”

“I’m fine. We’re fine. We don’t mind. We’re really very good at being…”

“I’m not talking about you, I’m talking about your friends. You can’t let them think that you’re dead. Not at Christmas. And what about Elise? Surely your daughter would want to spend Christmas with her mother.”

“It’s complicated. Very complicated. It’s far too complicated to explain right now.”

“You must tell them. At once. Off you go.”

The Doctor playfully rolled his eyes and muttered, “Yes, Mum. I’ll think about it.” He kissed her on the cheek and Elise hugged her again. “Now, eyes on the box,” the Doctor said.

Elise and the Doctor headed for the TARDIS.

“Oh, Caretaker? What if I require you again?” Madge asked.

“Make a wish.”

They went inside and took off.

The Doctor nervously knocked on the blue door in front of them.

“Argh! If that is more carol singers, I have a water pistol!” a familiar Scottish voice yelled, “You don’t want to be all wet on a night like this.”

The door swung open and Amy stood there. Her mouth dropped open in shock.

“Not absolutely sure how long…” the Doctor said.

“Two years,” Amy told him. She squirted him a few times.

“Okay. Fair point.”

“So, you’re not dead.”

“And a happy New Year!”

Amy leaned in close to him and said, “River told us.”

The Doctor scoffed. “Well, of course she did.”

“She’s a good girl. Well? I’m not going to hug first.”

“Nor am I.”

“Oh, out of the way. I’ve done nothing wrong,” Elise said. She threw her arms around Amy.

Amy laughed. “I swear you get prettier by the day!”

Elise blushed as she pulled away.

The Doctor and Amy spent about a minute trying to ignore each other, before laughing and hugging.

“Mister Pond!” Amy called, “Guess who’s coming for dinner?”

Rory entered the foyer. “Whoa! Not dead, then.”

“We’ve done that,” Amy told him.

“Oh.”

“We’re about to have Christmas dinner. Joining us?” Amy asked the Doctor.

“If it’s no trouble.”

“There’s a place set for you and Elise,” Rory said.

“But you didn’t know we were coming. Why would you set us a place?”

“Oh, because we always do. It’s Christmas, you moron!” Amy snapped. “Come on,” Rory told them.

Elise followed after Amy and Rory, leaving the Doctor outside.

“So, how old are you now?” Rory asked Elise.

Elise shrugged.

“210? I think. In human years you’d call that a teenager.”

“Oh dear.”

Elise rolled her eyes and playfully slapped Rory on the arm before hugging him. “I’ve missed you Uncle Rory.”

“We’ve missed you too, Elise.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First official episode of series 7!

Elise followed the Doctor as they walked on the surface of a ravaged planet. “Where are we?” Elise asked, looking at all the Dalek statues.

“It’s the planet Skaro. The home of the Daleks.”

Elise moved closer to the Doctor. Even though Elise was nearly an adult, Daleks still terrified her.

They entered a rundown building and saw a lone figure standing in front of a window. It was a woman wearing a cloak with a hood.

“I got your message. Not many people can do that. Send me messages,” the Doctor told her.

“I have a daughter, Hannah. She’s in a Dalek prison camp. They say you can help.”

“Do they? I wish they’d stop. I love your choice of meeting place.”

“They said I’d have to intrigue you.”

“Skaro. The original planet of the Daleks. Look at the state of it. Who told you about me?”

“Does it matter?”

“Maybe not, but you’re very well informed.” The Doctor walked over to her and pulled her hood back. “If Hannah’s in a Dalek prison camp, tell me, why aren’t you?”

“I escaped.”

The Doctor laughed. “No. Nobody escapes the Dalek camps.” He grabbed her hand. “You’re very cold.” He touched her face and then looked around.

“What’s wrong?” Elise asked him.

“It’s a trap.”

“What is?” the woman asked.

“You are, and you don’t even know it.”

The Doctor and Elise backed away as a Dalek eyestalk came out of her forehead. A gun came out of her palm and shot them both. When the two of them woke up, they were surrounded by Daleks.

Elise clung to her father’s arm as they led them through a corridor into a circular white room.

“So how much trouble are we in?” they heard Rory ask.

“How much trouble, Mister Pond? Out of ten? Eleven,” the Doctor said.

The ceiling opened up and they started rising. Soon they were surrounded by Daleks, which was making Elise very nervous. The last time she saw this many, Gallifrey was burning.

“Where are we? A spaceship, right?” Amy asked.

“Not just any spaceship. The Parliament of the Daleks,” the Doctor told them, “Be brave.”

“What do we do?”

“Make them remember you.” The Doctor stepped forward, despite Elise trying to pull him back.

If they’d not been surrounded by Daleks, it would have been comical the way Elise’s feet slid along the ground.

“Well, come on then. You’ve got me. What are you waiting for? At long last, it’s Christmas! Here I am!”

The Doctor and Elise closed their eyes, waiting for the killing shot.

“Save us. You will save us,” the head of the Daleks spoke.

The Doctor and Elise turned to face it. “I’ll what?” the Doctor asked.

“You will save the Daleks.” The Daleks around them repeated the phrase.

“Well. This is new,” the Doctor said.

Elise looked at him. “You think?”

The Doctor paced back and forth while Elise kept her eyes on the Daleks around them. He eventually stopped and straightened his bowtie and checked his watch.

“We have arrived,” a Dalek said.

“Arrived where?” the Doctor asked.

“Doctor,” the Dalek without a shell said.

“The Prime Minister will speak with you now,” the woman from earlier told them.

“Do you remember who you were before they emptied you out and turned you into their puppet?” the Doctor asked.

“My memories are only reactivated if they are required to facilitate cover or disguise.”

“You had a daughter.”

Elise knew why he was angry. He got very defensive when it came to children, mainly because they reminded him of herself.

The woman leaned in close to the Doctor. “I know. I’ve read my file.”

Elise and the Doctor walked up to the Dalek Prime Minister.

“Well?” the Doctor said.

“What do you know of the Dalek Asylum?” the Prime Minister asked.

“According to legend, you have a dumping ground. A planet where you lock up all the Daleks that go wrong. The battle-scarred, the insane, the ones even you can’t control. It’s never made any sense to me.”

“Why not?”

“Because you’d just kill them.”

“It is offensive to us to extinguish such divine hatred.”

“Offensive?” The Doctor approached the glass where the Prime Minister sat.

“Does it surprise you to know the Daleks have a concept of beauty?”

“I thought you’d run out of ways to make me sick. But hello again. You think hatred is beautiful.” The Doctor turned away from the glass and walked away.

“Perhaps that is why we have never been able to kill you.”

A hole opened in the middle of the floor and they all gathered around it.

“The Asylum. It occupies the entire planet, right to the core,” the woman told them.

“How many Daleks are in there?” the Doctor asked.

“A count has not been made. Millions, certainly.”

“All still alive?”

“It has to be assumed. The Asylum is fully automated. Supervision is not required.”

“Armed?” Amy asked.

“The Daleks are always armed.”

“What color?” Rory asked.

Everyone looked at him.

“I’m sorry, there weren’t any good questions left.”

“This signal is being received from the very heart of the Asylum.”

An opera started playing.

“What is the noise? Explain. Explain,” the Supreme Dalek asked.

“Er, it’s me,” the Doctor said.

“Sorry, what?” Rory asked him.

“It’s me, playing the triangle.”

The Doctor chuckled at the exasperated look on all their faces. “Okay, I got buried in the mix. Carmen. Lovely show.” He took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned. “Someone’s transmitting this. Have you considered tracking back the signal and talking to them? He asked the Daleks.”

The Doctor pressed a button on the console in front of him. “Hello? Hello? Carmen. Hello?”

A woman’s voice came over the speakers. “Hello?”

“Come in. Come in. Come in, Carmen.”

“Hello! Yes, yes, sorry.”

The opera stopped playing.

“Do you read me?” she asked.

“Yes, reading you loud and clear. Identify yourself and report your status.”

“Hello. Are you real? Are you actually, properly, real?”

“Yes, confirmed. Actually, properly, real.”

“Oswin Oswald, Junior Entertainment Manager, Starship Alaska. Current status, crashed and shipwrecked somewhere not nice. Been here a year, rest of the crew missing. Provisions good but keen to move on.”

“A year? Are you okay? Are you under attack?”

“Some local lifeforms. Been keeping them out.”

“Do you know what those lifeforms are?”

“I know a Dalek when I hear one, yeah.”

“What have you been doing on your own against the Daleks for a year?”

“Making soufflés?”

“Soufflés? Against the Daleks?” The Doctor laughed. “Where’d you get the milk?”

“This conversation is irrelevant,” the Supreme Dalek said.

“No, it isn’t!” the Doctor snapped, “Because a starliner has crashed into your Asylum, and someone’s got in. And if someone can get in, then everything can get out. A tsunami of insane Daleks. Even you don’t want that.”

“The Asylum must be cleansed.”

“Then why is it still here? You’ve enough firepower on this ship to blast it out of the sky.”

“The Asylum forcefield is impenetrable,” the Dalek puppet told him.

“Turn it off.” “It can only be turned off from within the Asylum.”

“A small taskforce could sneak through a forcefield. Send in a couple of Daleks.” The Doctor started to walk back to the center of the room when he stopped and started clapping. “Oh. Oh, that’s good. That’s brilliant. You’re all too scared to go down there. Not one of you will go, so tell me, what do the Daleks do when they’re too scared?”

“The Predator of the Daleks will be deployed,” the Supreme Dalek said.

“You don’t have a Predator, and even if you did, why would they turn off a forcefield for you?”

“Because you will have no other means of escape,” the Prime Minister told him.

“May I clarify? The Predator is the Dalek’s word for you,” the Dalek puppet said.

“Me? Me?” the Doctor asked.

“You will need this. It will protect you from the nanocloud.”

Two men stepped forward and placed wristbands on the Doctor and Elise’s wrists.

“The what? The nano what?” the Doctor asked.

“The gravity beam will convey you close to the source of the transmission. You must find a way to deactivate the forcefield from there,” the puppet said.

“You’re going to fire me at a planet? That’s your plan? I get fired at a planet and expected to fix it.”

“In fairness, that is slightly your MO,” Rory told him.

“Don’t be fair to the Daleks when they’re firing me at a planet.”

The men put wristbands on Amy and Rory as well.

“What do you want with them?” the Doctor asked.

“It is known the Doctor required companions,” the Supreme Dalek said.

“Oh, brilliant! Good-o!” Rory yelled.

Elise offered him a small smile and took his hand in hers.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get through this, I promise. Don’t be scared,” the Doctor told Amy.

“Scared? Who’s scared? Geronimo.”

The Doctor laughed and the next thing they knew, they were being shoved into the gravity beam.


End file.
